Syria: 'My credibility is not on the line' - Obama; resolution vote expected today; McCain says he's not for it

View full sizeFILE - In this Monday, Aug. 26, 2013 file photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad gestures as he speaks during an interview with a Russian newspaper, in Damascus, Syria. As the Obama administration tries to prod Congress into backing armed action against Syria, the regime in Damascus is hiding military hardware and shifting troops out of bases into civilian areas. (AP Photo/SANA, File)

A vote is expected today by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on a draft resolution to use military force in Syria.

The resolution would set a 60-day deadline, with one 30-day extension possible. There will be no ground forces allowed in the conflict.

If approved, the resolution would be sent to the full Senate for a vote sometime after members return from recess on Sept. 9.

Reuters is reporting this morning say Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.) has said he could not support the draft resolution.

President Obama is considering launching the military strike against Syrian President Bashar Assad over an alleged chemical weapons attack in a rebel-held suburb of the Syrian capital of Damascus on Aug. 21. The U.S. has said a sarin gas attack killed 1,429 people, including more than 400 children, based on intelligence reports.

Here's a look at developments in the conflict Wednesday over the attack and the potential U.S. response:

Here's what President Obama said about the conflict with Syria Wednesday. He was speaking in Sweden where he stopped on his way to a G-20 summit in Russia:

"My credibility is not on the line -- the international community's
credibility is on the line," President Barack Obama said Wednesday in
Sweden regarding his desire for a military strike in response to a
suspected August chemical attack in Syria. He said the question is,
after going through all the evidence: "Are we going to try to find a
reason not to act? And if that's the case, then I think the (world)
community should admit it."

"We agree that the
international community cannot be silent," Obama said. A team of U.N.
investigators has done "heroic work," he said. But, he added, "we believe that chemical weapons were used."

In other developments:

Testifying before a Senate committee Tuesday, Secretary of State John Kerry said the "world is watching" for a response to the chemical attack, and wants to know whether "the United States will arise to this moment and make a difference."

Sources say the Assad regime in Damascus is hiding military hardware and shifting troops out of bases into civilian areas in anticipation of an attack by the United States.

President Assad has gone on the offensive, warning that any military action against Syria could spark a regional war.

National Security Advisor Susan Rice told NBC News on Tuesday the Obama administration has "no expectation" of losing the vote authorizing military action in Syria.

President Vladimir Putin warned against the U.S. attacking Syria but also said Russia "doesn't exclude" supporting a U.N. resolution on punitive military strikes if it is proved that Damascus used poison gas on its own people, according to the Associated Press.

Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the French government spokeswoman, told BFM-TV that military action in Syria could "re-balance" the civil war there.

NEW: UK Prime Minister David Cameron: 'I accept that Britain can't be part, and won't be part, of any military action' on Syria - @Telegraph

Iraq's prime minister Nouri al-Maliki is warning that an outside military strike on Syria could have "unforeseen consequences." He also said the world should wait for the United Nations inspectors to report their findings on the attack.

The conflict is affecting markets and oil prices. The price of oil was near $108 a barrel on Wednesday after key U.S. politicians came out backing the plan by President Obama for a retaliatory strike against Syria. Global stock markets fell Wednesday, on concerns over the potential conflict in Syria. According to an Associated Press story, optimism over the better-than-expected U.S. manufacturing for August dissipated amid fears of military action in Syria.